The establishment and management of services to subscribers of communications networks can involve extensive use of databases. In particular, databases for communications networks may be used to manage billing information as well as service information that can be used to repair and maintain the services offered to subscribers.
Many of the databases may be operated independent of one another. For example, a new Subscriber may contact a customer service representative to initiate new services, such as new telephone service or new data communications service. The customer service representative can use a billing database to record the new subscriber billing information, such as the customer's name, address and what types of services for the customer has subscribed to (such as caller ID, call waiting, and call forwarding, etc.) for which the subscriber will be billed. The customer service representative may also enter information that identifies the subscriber as receiving data communications services, such as Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) services. The data entered into the billing database can be used to generate invoices for the subscriber's services.
The data entered into the billing database can also be provided “downstream” service databases that can be used to maintain and repair the services provided to the subscriber. For example, if the subscriber receives ADSL service, a services database commonly referred to as a Network Services Database (NSDB) may incorporate the billing data from the billing database into other information which describes the particulars of how the service is provide to the subscriber. For example, in addition to the billing data, the NSDB can include detailed information regarding message trunks, special services, carrier circuits and other services that can be used to maintain and repair these services provided to the subscriber.
Service personnel may be called on to investigate and repair the services when, for example, trouble has been reported by the subscriber or when other systems indicate action may be needed with respect to a particular service. Accordingly, the service personnel may access the service databases that store the service data associated with the service for which trouble has been reported. Over the course of a repair, the service personnel may modify the data in the service database so that the data in the billing database and the data in the service database become “unsynchronized” such that the data in the service database may be inaccurate with respect to the billing database. Accordingly, there is a need to improve the management of billing and service data associated with communication networks.